Rangers newco: Charles Green consortium ‘put £50m sale price’ on club

Green's initial investment of �5.5m is likely to be questioned by fans. Picture: SNS

EWING GRAHAME

THE Charles Green consortium have told Rangers supporters that it would take at least £50 million for them to sell the newco club – a figure which would give them an astonishing 900 per cent profit on their initial £5.5m investment.

That minimum figure was revealed at a meeting between the board of Sevco Scotland Ltd and the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund last week.

Minutes of the meeting taken by RFFF also show that manager Ally McCoist, who attended along with Sevco’s directors, will refuse to plead with fans to buy season tickets because he does not yet have sufficient faith in the new owners.

Yet it was the value that Green and Co – who have already dismissed a bid of £6.5m from a group fronted by Walter Smith – have placed on the club which shocked those in attendance.

A representative from Rangers Unite asked: “What would you see as an exit price?”

Director Imran Ahmad replied: “On a bad day the club is worth £50m.”

That statement will call into question the decision by controversial joint administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, of Duff & Phelps, to sell the club and its assets to Green’s group for a cut-price £5.5m.

Last month Lord Hodge at the Court of Session, ordered Duff & Phelps to prove that there had been no conflict of interest in their role.

The company had been appointed by discredited former owner Craig Whyte, whom they had advised on his takeover, when they were forced into administration in February.

Since then Duff & Phelps have been paid an estimated £200,000 per week during their time at Ibrox and Ahmed’s estimation of the true worth of the club is likely to enrage creditors and fans alike. McCoist, meanwhile, admitted that he couldn’t bring himself to ask supporters to rally round and buy season tickets.

The minutes state: “Ally said he couldn’t ask the fans to renew STs as he didn’t know which players would be there or where we would be playing and he wouldn’t want it on his conscience that our hard-earned cash was being spent on something he couldn’t guarantee. Also, he didn’t have full trust in the current board for two reasons; he hasn’t known them long enough yet and because of the actions of the previous incumbents.”

Chairman Malcolm Murray also disclosed that the process for changing the name of Murray Park is under way.

The minutes also reveal that Green weighed up the option of buying two English clubs so he could relocate Rangers to the lower leagues down south and that he anticipates Whyte and others being found guilty of illegal activity during their time at Ibrox.

“CG expects criminal charges to be brought to the previous regime. CG was asked if the possibility of playing in England exists and if he made an attempt at buying Bury FC.

“He responded that he was attracted by Bury and hoped to mention the club along with Rangers. Unfortunately distance was going to be a problem, as after Wimbledon became Milton Keynes Dons the English football league changed its rules to state that any merger between two clubs could only happen if the clubs were within roughly 60 miles of each other.

“He also looked at the possibility of buying Carlisle, but believes we cannot merge with an English club.

“We would have to start at the bottom of the conference if we were to go to England.”